Building Search into Pip

I've begun using pip frequently for working with python packages in my virtualenvs. pip does a great job with installing (and now uninstalling) python packages, but it currently lacks a command that I miss from other types of package managers, such as aptitude and port -- search.

I've forked a Git mirror of pip on Github for the purpose of tooling it with a search command, and I've made some progress in the last few days getting it working. It provides a search command which can search PyPI directly or a local search index. It displays the installation status of the package (i=installed, n=not installed) along with the name and summary.